Desert Flower

hardy flower
Originally uploaded by spauldingtj

The first wildflowers are in bloom here in the Antelope Valley, blooming with what Edward Abbey called "...the special and extraordinary beauty of wild and lonely things"

He writes:

"Every desert flower shares that quality. Anything that lives where it seems nothing could live, enduring extremes of heat and cold, sunlight and storm, parching aridity and sudden cloudbursts, among burnt rocks and shifting sands, any such creature -- beast, bird or flower -- testifies to the grandeur and heroism inherent in all forms of life. Including the human. Including us." (Edward Abbey, 'Beyond the Wall')

Desert springtime

flowers and flatirons
Originally uploaded by spauldingtj

Spring is hitting the Antelope Valley this week. Daylight savings, obviously, but lots of growth happening just below the surface, too. We're looking forward to a good showing of wildflowers from all of the rain this winter. The first ones are just starting to show out of the desert sands.

Here's a shot of some of them, taken at the 'Devil's Punchbowl, the intersection of the San Andreas, Pinyon, and Punchbowl faults.

Tri-mom

tri-mom
Originally uploaded by spauldingtj

Congratulations to Dori, who ran the Los Alamitos Tri this weekend, despite the showers and wind. Her training paid off as she put in a strong ride and placed in the top 15% of the age group! Great work, especially for the first race of the season!

Mountain Wave

Mountain Wave
Originally uploaded by spauldingtj

There is lots of wind here in the Antelope Vallley -- one of the wind effects that we feel a lot in the air is the 'mountain wave,' which happens when the upper-level winds get lifted by the mountains to our west. This weekend we had just the right moisture in the air to get some cloud formation from this mountain wave. The clouds were there all afternoon, but set up into a nice row just over the house around sunset...

The City

cable cars
Originally uploaded by spauldingtj

We hit San Francisco this weekend. Good times for all.

Did we have ride a cable car? Yes.
Did we have clam chowder in a bread bowl? Yes.
Did I manage to drop both my kids on their heads in the space of 2 hours? Also yes.

Brain injuries aside, we had a great time riding the cable car, touring the WWII submarine, and hanging out with Tom, Ron, and Grandma. Ollie got to see the Golden Gate Bridge and Coit Tower, and Charlotte impressed the chinese ladies on the bus through China Town.

Tim

palm tree after the rain

palm tree after the rain
Originally uploaded by spauldingtj

Had another rainstorm here in the Mojave this weekend (I thought this place was a desert?) Afterwards, we had a great double rainbow--the most intense rainbow I have ever seen. It was so bright that Ollie was sure we could go stand underneath it. So we threw our boots out and ran down the street after it. Unfortunately it faded away. Ollie's comment : "Somebody stole our pot of gold!"

Allergy Update

We met with an allergist a week and a half ago and I have been impressed with him so far.

Ollie had a CT scan of his sinuses, and is currently halfway through a 20 day course to clear out his very infected sinuses (poor kid)

His blood test results came back and the allergist predicts that O will grow out of his milk allergy in a year, and his egg and peanut allergies in two years. Great news for us!! Turns out that he is pretty allergic to cats, so thanks again Mom and Dad Spaulding for keeping Cecil for us : )

Hope you are all doing well : )

Rolling, rolling, rolling

Charlotte is on the move! I put her in Ollie's room and walked away, and when I came back she had rolled to the other side of the room! Some people are wary of mobile babies, but I say YEAH for independence!! One Mom I respect says that we have 18 years to teach our kids all that they need to know before they go into college and I agree with her. Don't get me wrong, I adore my sweet baby and her sweet smiles and cuddles (she has an easy and giant smile), but my back will be very happy when Charlotte can move on her own. She is at a whopping 19 lbs. 14 oz!!! Ollie was over a year before he was that big.

Ollie is still cute and cheeky, but Tim and I have discovered why some parents claim that three is worse than two. O man had not thrown a temper tantrum in QUITE a long time, but boy has he fired off some doosies lately! I "think" that we're back on top now that we have re-established a time out spot. Poor kid gets a manic look in his eye when we tell him to stay in time out, and he pleads to have good behavior again. Very pathetic. We're at the cusp of new independence (potty training is going VERY well), a new house, a Dad that went back to work, and the loss of his old friends. We'll be alright in the end, but Ollie can now claim some of my grey hairs and a little bit of Tim's receding hairline!

Hope all is well! Looks like Tim will get his first ride tomorrow and I have signed up for my first tri of the season! Feb. 27th at Los Alamitos Air Base. I'll let you know how it goes : )

January Update

Ollie on the beach in Santa Monica

Life here in California is settling right in for all of us. Tim is back in the saddle, with his first flight scheduled for tomorrow. Unfortunately the rain followed us from the UK, so his viper ride may have to wait until next week.

Life on base is good. TPS is very similar to the other formal training courses and we have enjoyed getting to know the other folks in the class.

Lots of people "warned" us about Edwards, but I have to say that we love it here. We're close enough to Target to get what we need, but far enough so that I don't drop in all of the time. If I can't have the charm of England, I'll enjoy the convenience of America : )

Here's the good:
- short commute to the commissary
- friends across the street
- a park within a short walk of my house
- mail delivered to a box by the park and a post-lady who delivers large packages to my door : )
- a "normal" schedule so far, but we'll see how long that lasts once Tim starts flying
- my washer and dryer are in their own utility room (not the kitchen or garage)
- Space for everything that we own
- this week isn't so sunny, but its not the norm...the sun shines often here in Southern California : )
-lots of great travel opportunities within a days drive
- great opportunities for Tim and a better family life for us (no sandy places this year!)

Here's the bad:
- We miss our friends in the UK and the Bolars...lots of babies due about now that I wish that I could cuddle!
- coyotes, spiders, and snakes (oh, my!)

Ollie is going to "school" at the Child Development Center. Kids can't wear pull ups in class, so the treat of going to school was enough to motivate him to use the potty all of the time. We're VERY excited that its finally clicked : ) On the sad side, he's given up his nap : ( Most day's that's okay, but sometimes it catches up with us all. He loves to ride his tricycle and visit his new friends' houses. He misses the UK, but seems to enjoy life here.

Charlotte sometimes sleeps through the night. Three meals a day, a sleep sack, and a dose of tylenol seem to do the trick : ) Her bottom two teeth have finally made an appearance and I'm sure that the top ones aren't too far behind. Charlotte enjoys paper, eating, smiling, and her brother.

I have decided to use this time to raise the kids and get in shape. I LOVED the cheeses in the UK, but its nice to have that temptation removed. Charlotte spends some quality time at the CDC while O man is at preschool, giving me some time at the gym. So far, I've signed up for a half marathon from Napa to Sonoma (nice scenery) and an Olympic distance triathlon in LA. Check back in July and October for my photo finishes : )

Hope you are all well!!

Back in the US of A

Its been a whirlwind week for the four of us, but we are all very happy to be back in the good old US of A. Here are the highlights since we left the UK:

- In the past week, we've been to Heathrow, LAX, the Vegas Airport, Atlanta's Hartsfield, and Birmingham's Airport

- The kids have been great traveler's so far

- Risby did really well on the flight and we are really happy to have her with us

- The customs folks took our dog food, so I "had" to walk to the nearby Target to pick up food for the Riz. Good thing for Tim that I was on foot!

-Edwards really is in the middle of nowhere, but the sun shines 350 days a year. Its all about the positive spin.

- We have a four bedroom house on base, and Ollie is VERY happy with all of the dirt and rocks. Its all dirt, except for a small patch of grass in the backyard

- We are in Alabama for Thanksgiving, and Charlotte's Baptism is next Saturday. We are very excited to share this time with good friends and family.

- We have new cell numbers and a new address, so look out for a mass e-mail from either Tim or I : )

- We're shopping for living room furniture...time to get adult furniture!

Hope you are all doing well and we're excited to see you soon!

Four years, two kids, and a dog

We are six weeks shy of a four year stay here in the UK, and we board a plane tomorrow for Los Angeles. Our family has grown to two children and a dog, we've survived two deployments, and we've made so many great friends. We are truly going to miss this island. Instead of a wordy recap, here's a list of some of the things that I'll miss most:

Good friends

Ollie's friends

Creamed Tea at Harriet's

A two hour flight to central Europe

PG Tips

Our tiny and cozy, but wonderful house across from a duck pond

Walking into Bury for dinner

Walking to the Abbey Gardens through the market on a Saturday with a cup of Cafe Nero coffee in my hands

The Rose Garden

Lunch with the girls

The Green Wellie

The RAF Club in London

Riding the train

Great travel

We don't yet have a forwarding address, but we expect one soon. The housing office at Edwards is one of our first stops next week! We'll keep you posted via e-mail.

If you find yourself in the LA area and want to see the middle of the desert, give us a buzz!

Remembrance Sunday

Off to a lay a wreath at the site of RAF North Pickenham tomorrow, visited the American cemetery in Cambridge this afternoon.

From the chapel at the American cemetery:

IN PROUD AND GRATEFUL MEMORY OF THOSE MEN OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY AIR FORCE WHO FROM THESE FRIENDLY ISLES FLEW THEIR FINAL FLIGHT AND MET THEIR GOD. THEY KNEW NOT THE HOUR THE DAY NOR THE MANNER OF THEIR PASSING. WHEN FAR FROM HOME THEY WERE CALLED TO JOIN THAT HEROIC BAND OF AIRMEN WHO HAD GONE BEFORE. MAY THEY REST IN PEACE.

Fall Colors

I didn't take this picture(credit: lowfly.net), but I wanted to post it for the nice Fall colors. And the jet.

Won't be posting many of my own pictures for awhile here since I just realized that although I managed to keep my camera out of the household goods shipment, I failed to do so with the battery charger or the USB cord. Oh well.

Cheers,

Tim

Rubber Neck or Bleeding Heart?

Why, when you hear about a tragedy, do you feel the need to turn and stare? Is my desire to help those hurting and grieving or do I just want to be close to the action?

The 16 Community has suffered some major losses in just the past month and they sting all the more because they are a part of our AF community. While I feel a little like I'm paying too much attention to someone else's drama, my heart aches for these families and I will continue to pray for them. What else can we do?

There was a crash at Shaw AFB (in South Carolina) and one pilot has not been found. Really, this is every spouse's greatest fear (its mine, at least). Last night Tim came to bed telling me that he had just heard about the saddest story. Just a few hours after giving birth to her second child, a mother passed away. This makes TWO moms that we know of that have passed within the past month. And just after bringing their babies into the world. TWO!!!

Instead of rubber necking and learning all of the gory details, I will hug my family just a little tighter and I will be ever so thankful for all of the blessings in my life. And in an odd way, I will grieve for those who must now raise a family without their partner. My heart aches for you.

Sign on the line?

Sign on the line?
Originally uploaded by spauldingtj

Ollie is trying to write letters these days. "O" is natural enough, but the rest are a bit of a challenge. He did apparently manage to get all of the letters for "Ollie" down on the page the other day though. $5 to the first person who can find them all! (and no, the example doesn't count).

Capitalism and financial crashes: newyorker.com

Non-standard for the blog, but here's a really good article from the New Yorker, describing the way in which rational people, acting rationally, can produce terrible results. Perhaps a good phenomenon to keep in the cross check when tempted with the desire to 'let the market work it out.'

Capitalism and financial crashes: newyorker.com

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Redstone rocket re-enactment??

MVI_9015
Originally uploaded by spauldingtj

Ollie made a rocket at daycare today.

When I got home from work, I asked him if he could show me how it flew...

Looks like there might be some glitches in the flight control software.

Seriously?

Gotta read the fine print. I guess we were out of luck.

Total loss of bacon control

...and I set the stupid fire alarm off again this morning. Ridiculous.

Alas, poor York, we knew it well...

York! We should have gone there before. What a great town. Before we hit the road O and I established a couple more MAN LAWS:

MAN LAW 1: GLASSES ARE OPTIONAL

MAN LAW 2: TOILET SEATS SHOULD REMAIN IN THEIR MOST EFFICIENT POSITIONS.

After lunch in the park, we made our way to the National Rail Museum. Great museum, though why did the Thomas merchandise have to be some close to the entrance? Anyway, Ollie almost passed out when he saw the main hall. I dragged him away from the caboose that you could climb into (I thought 1 hour was a bit excessive). We then discovered that we could climb through a bunch of the engines.

O was the engineer, picking up the coal from the tender:

And putting it in the fire:

Great day over all, capped off by hanging by the river Ouse and finishing off lunch leftovers while watching the boat races.

I won't tell you what time Ollie fell asleep in order to protect the innocent!